Pyongyang, Aug 12 (IANS) Some 3.5 million North Korean citizens have signed up to enlist in the army to fight against the US, as tension between Washington and Pyongyang continues to mount, state-media reported on Saturday.

The Rodong Sinmun daily reported on Saturday that 3.47 million students, young workers and retired soldiers were asked to join the armed forces in the three days since August 7 when the regime announced a retaliation against a new round of UN sanctions, reports Efe news.

“All the people are rising up across the country to retaliate against the US thousands of times,” the daily said.

North Korea has a population of 25 million, with an army of between 700,000 and 1.3 million members.

North Korean state-media on Wednesday showed images of a mobilisation of tens of thousands of citizens parading through Kim Il-sung square in Pyongyang carrying banners in defence of leader Kim Jong-un and denouncing the latest UN sanctions to punish the regime for its missile launches.

State news agency KCNA has reported such mobilisations all over the country on Thursday and Friday.

Tensions between Pyongyang and Washington have been escalating due to North Korea’s tests of nuclear and inter-continental ballistic missile.

US President Donald Trump this week warned North Korea he would respond with “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if Kim Jong-un’s regime did not cease to issue threats the to US and its allies.